Kg11

Ok, so as I posted last week, we are looking at a family car. Primarily, we are thinking of a 2016-2017 base Cayenne, as our budget is $35k.

Oddly enough, a Estoril Blue 2017 M-sport 330i wagon just popped up on Carmax (which I reserved). Similar price ($32k for 44,000 miles). I have always loved BMW wagons. Sure, it is down on power at 248hp vs 300hp, but it is also a heck of a lot lighter. The wagon will also depreciate less: they are holding their value, especially in M-sport trim. They have been bid up to $40k plus on BAT: as we all know, any wagon is really the enthusiast's choice. That being said, the newer F series 330/340 isn't exactly the E9X in terms of driving dynamics. Again, this will be a family hauler and DD.

Given our budget, are we barking up the right tree here? Please keep in mind that I would jump at the right S/GTS Cayenne, but they are a bit beyond our price range.

I suppose a Macan makes sense at that price point too, although I figured a 3-series wagon probably has more room. I should investigate that a bit more. I have always liked wagons as they are so unique. A dream car is a E63 AMG wagon or RS6 Avant.

EDIT: Macan runs about $8k more and has the same amount of room. Macan is going to be the better car, but $8k is $8k.

Overall thoughts?

F SANE IL

First thought.... spend the 35k and get an older year Cayenne Turbo. The base will feel real heavy and slow. As for that other thing, I have no words for it, just run away.

Quadcammer

Im not sure id pick either. If its the 4 banger turbo bmw it would be s major pass for me

dan of montana

I had one of these BMW wagons, and I now have a 958 Cayenne S (see photo below).

Some basic impressions:
The Cayenne has nicer seats, feels more solid, feels a bit more special. The Cayenne has better steering.
The BMW is far more engaging to drive. Yes, even with the turbo 4 and muted steering. No cooled seats in the BMW F31. But the transmission is better in the BMW too (8sp ZF).

Both cars are "make or break" based on options. Wheels and parts are harder to find/more expensive in the Porsche world, but it's not unreasonable. Just remember BMW produced 10x the amount of cars as Porsche does, so it's just a matter of scale.

That said, given the choice to do it again..... my set up has the wagon/SUV as the middle family car. It's meant to be comfy, to cruise, to not be enjoyable to drive. I think I'd go Cayenne Turbo. If you are looking for a sports sedan experience with wagon/CUV convenience, the BMW is probably the better choice. I have an old M3 for fun, so the Cayenne fits the bill of a 400hp semi-interesting (non-boring) family hauler.

dan of montana

One other thought. The BMW power figure is underrated. Lots of evidence of them putting 240ish to the wheels. My previous BMW wagon was just as fast as my current 958.1 S. You really need to drive both to figure out which one feels best at hand for your tastes. Both great cars.

TMC.

I've seen 958 Turbos on Carvana in the high 20s'
If you (or anyone else) need a referral code for $500 off let me know.

D3RP

We leased a F31 and it was the most reliable BMW we’ve had (5 prior; jury is still out on the M2) but also the “least” BMW of them all. Power was fine but the dampers and brakes were under spec’d for the car. Really great run-about machine but left me wanting during touring due to my perception of chassis limitations. I really wanted to like it more, and maybe would have if I owned (vs. leased) and installed springs, dampers, and upgraded brakes.

I’m a fan of iDrive and felt the BMW tech of F31 is better than the tech of our 958.2 WFIW.

dan of montana

Ah yes, my car had the biggest of the brake options - the M-Performance. This is under 19" wheels

hotrod2448

Do you work on your vehicle or do you pay someone to do it? If you are someone who choses to take your car to the dealership for every thing, BMW is likely going to be significantly cheaper in the long run. If you can at least do the basics yourself, the Cayenne becomes a more competitive option.

Kg11

Interesting thread-thanks for the replies!

I have a friend who used to be a Porsche race tech; he works on friend's cars on the weekends for $60/hour, so it is fine either way. I am not a dealership guy; we have a good indy locally as well if I need something fixed: they are 1/2 of dealership prices.

Kg11

Interesting thoughts. Is your car parked at Wall Street Suites off of Olney in Bend? If so, it is a very "Pacific Northwest" type of car. Not so much down here in Dallas.

I have owned a 328xi, 328i, 335xi, 335i, 335is, E92 M3, F series M4, E70 wagon, and whatever the 2010 X5 was called. They all have driven well and been solid cars. The 335is had a boatload of problems and needed a new manual tranny at 35,000 miles but the others were nice cars (mostly manuals). I have always liked BMW and the price point is more obtainable than Porsche; there is something unique and special about a wagon. I have heard it from others as well: the F-series seems to be more of an all-around entry-level luxury car and not the sport wagon it is claimed to be. Power should be adequate: most tests I have seen show a 0-60 in very low 5's, which is just behind the 958.2 Cayenne S.

D3RP

Good eye. Have stayed in the Wall Street Suites three times while ski tripping in Bend and would highly recommend. The F31 was a respectable ski car. Pushed some snow with the front valence on a couple days but don’t often need the extra clearance a 958 would provide.

alexl911

I'm in the exact same position so curious which way you decided to go? I really don't like SUV's so always bought wagons. Currently, I've got a '14 F31 328 xdrive with 90K miles which has been 100% reliable but I'm now looking to get a 958.2 as the 'new' family car. I really liked the BMW wagons (I've owned 3 plus a 5 series wagon) but now we want something different since the F31 was not good once loaded up with 3-4 passengers, camping gear, roof box, bikes etc. I blew through a couple of sets of rear shocks and thrust arm bushings due to carrying excess weight on rough rough roads. My 14yr old son is already over 6'1" so rear seat room is a necessity and the F31 is getting tight.

I test drove a 958.2 base and disagree with the comments -I think for a daily 'family' car it's more than adequate and even more 'fun' to drive than the wagon. The BMW has completely 'numb' steering feel and loads of understeer so it's not a sports car no matter how it's spec'd. Before test driving Cayennes I really thought that I would need at a minimum an 'S' due to lack of power but that is not the case. Sure, it's nice to have but IMHO completely not necessary on public roads.

Kg11

Just an update: we ended up with the 958.2 Cayenne S and after a few initial dealer hiccups (used car that wasn't as advertised and we fought to eventually have the put $2k into it to fix the issues), we love it. We were able to find white with the 2-tone red and black interior.

My wife is an aggressive driver (we both track the 911 and the track-prepped 981 CS) and she wants to autocross it, just for the heck of it. She swears it handles better than her M4 did, which makes me think it probably out-handles a 330 x-drive wagon. I think we made the right decision. If you need a full-size daily and weekend road trip car, I don't think it gets much better from a handling perspective (well, a Cayenne GTS). Tons of people around here (women mostly) love their G-wagens, but I couldn't imagine those being fun to drive at all. Must be an image thing-look at me in my totally impractical $200k military-grade SUV.

alexl911

Congrats... may I ask the spec and what it cost? I'm shopping at the moment and prices seem MUCH higher than they were pre-COVID. Also, do you think it was better value to go for an 'S' over a base? The extra power of the S is of no value to me but they seem to be generally spec'd better for not that much more money.